Guard Dog

If you do not have a dog capable of protecting you and your family then I would say you are not prepared.  Little dogs are nice for alerting you but a big dog can kill a man.  Big dogs also intimidate most of these thugs that would do you harm or try to burglarize your home.  I used to have some country crack heads (drug addicts) cut through my property to get to the other side of my neighborhood.  Ever since I got my dog, they don't cut through my property anymore!

If you do not have a dog I would recommend an Akita, German Shepherd or a Doberman. A pit bull would also be good.  We all know the reputation they have for killing people.  Personally I have an Akita.  They are known for their large size, their aggression, protectiveness and for their loyalty.  Akitas are very territorial and anyone or any animal that enters its territory will be attacked, even if they met the person before.  Everyone knows that if they come to my house they will need to call before they come.  No need to train Akitas to guard or even protect you because they will do this instinctively.  The only problem with Akitas is that they don't like the heat so when summertime comes my dog loves to be indoors in the air condition.

So if you want to Be Prepared you need to get a dog!

Live the Motto - Be Prepared!

Here are some photos of my Akita:

 

 

Are we getting closer to the SHTF?

Are we getting closer to the SHTF? I think so.  If you have not begun preparing for what is to come then you really need to wake up!  Preparing is not hard.  Get out there and stock up on food, water, medical supplies, firearms, ammo, etc.  This week has shown us the beginning of the end of the world as we know it.  I hope I'm wrong but all things point to the SHTF. 

This week we saw that now a whole country, Greece, needs a bailout from the European Union because of their debt.  I guarantee we will see more countries cry for help because they don't know how to control themselves and stop spending taxpayers' money. 

It was revealed that China, for the month of December, sold a ton of US treasury bonds and now Japan is once again the top holder of US trash, I mean bonds. Are the Chinese coming to their senses or just playing the game?  Don't know but it doesn't matter.  It's all going to collapse soon. 

We then saw a man fly his plane into an IRS office in Texas.  No need for me to debate whether or not it was right or wrong but is theft, slavery, murder, and rape openly committed by the U.S. government and its employees right?  It looks like karma is coming around fast and its only going to take a few more sparks until the fire ignites. 

Then in Ohio a man bulldozed his house to send a message to the banks. He said that he wanted to "make banks think twice before they try to take someone's home, and if they are going to take it wrongly, the end result will be them tearing their house down like I did mine." I think his real message for the banks was "I'm not going to be a slave anymore!"  He sacrificed his house to free himself and stick it to the bank.  A man who would do this is most likely prepared for what is to come.

So are you prepared?  The signs of what is to come are everywhere.  Preparing is just common sense.

Live the Motto - Be Prepared!

Home Made Compost Tea Brewer

As part of being prepared and learning to grow vegetables and fruit when the SHTF I have been researching alternatives (in addition to the Ruth Stout method) in enriching my soil so synthetic fertilizers will not be necessary, and one of the books I have read is called Teaming with Microbes.  This book gives a very easy to read explanation of the soil food web and all the microorganisms that should be in the soil to properly feed the crops.  It also explains the benefits of Compost Tea which is used to introduce beneficial microorganisms into the soil and onto your crops.  Having a healthy soil is vital in growing good looking and tasting vegetables and fruit.  If you are a farmer/gardener, which you should be, then it is vital that you prepare your soil and make sure the beneficial bacteria and fungi are included in your soil.  For me, the previous owner of my small farm tilled and used chemicals which destroyed the soil food web.  One indicator that will tell you if your soil is bad is if you do not have any earthworms in the soil.  If you dig a one foot square area and you do not have any worms then you can be sure that you do not have healthy soil.  This was how my soil was last year until I placed hay and mulch over the soil.  There were no worms to be found but after a few months the soil started to recover and worms started living in the soil.

So to increase the microorganisms in my soil I decided to build a compost tea brewer.  I based my brewer on this brewer plan created by Harvard.  For the most part, my compost tea brewer is the same except for the barrel.  I will be using a 50 gallon food grade barrel instead of a plastic garbage can since I could not determine for sure that the plastic garbage can was food grade.  In addition, I will be using a different air pump.  I have not obtained the air pump yet but I will be buying the EcoPlus Commercial Air 5 which was recommended by Tim Wilson of Microbe Organics which has a lot of good info about microorganisms and compost tea.   He has some good pictures of microorganisms if you are interested in that kind of thing, which I am for some reason. LOL

Also, I will not glue the pipes together.  With compost tea you need to be able to thoroughly clean the pipes or the tea will not come out right.

Below are some photos of my Home Made Compost Tea Brewer.  I will post more photos once I get my air pump and barrel. 

Live the Motto - Be Prepared!

 

 

 

 

Shoveling snow

The Philadelphia/South Jersey area received almost 2 feet of snow Tuesday and Wednesday night.  I had to shovel my driveway 3 times to keep up.  I'm still young (34) so it was not too bad but I realized that I am not in the shape I used to be.  Being in good physical condition at all times is a very important part of being prepared.  Being able to physically exert yourself, whether to defend yourself or flee to the hills on foot, without being winded or out of breath could be the determining factor in saving your life.  If you do not exercise on a regular basis I recommend you do so immediately.  You need to be able to know that your body will perform when needed.

One exercise program that I use and recommend is P90X. This program kicked my butt but it works. It's expensive but I needed a structured exercise routine.  I don't like going to the gym or running outside or on a treadmill all the time.  It will be hard but if you get through it and exercise on a regular basis you will know that your body will be prepared to handle any physical activity.

For all you men, remember real men use shovels! LOL  Lay off the snow blowers and get some exercise by shoveling snow.

Live the Motto - Be Prepared!

Home made Well Bucket

In one of my earlier posts I made a Home Made Water Filter which could be used in an emergency if the public water was contaminated and I had to use my well water. I now have taken my preparations a step further in regards to obtaining water from my well. If my power went out on a long term basis and the public water was contaminated I needed a way to retrieve the water from my well.  Therefore, I created my own well bucket. After constantly searching the internet for a simple design, I found one on the Alpha Rubicon website on the Build A Well Bucket page.  Of course in order to lower the well bucket I will need to remove the water pump so using this well bucket will only be for a real emergency/disaster.  In addition, this bucket will only bring up about 1.5 gallons at one time. 

I recommend that if you have a well you should have a simple way to obtain the water from that well when the SHTF.  Even if you have a generator or solar powered water pump you should have a backup.  You can never be too prepared.

Below are some photos of my Well Bucket.  Although I have not tested it in my well, it seems to work pretty good in my bathtub! 

Live the Motto - Be Prepared!

Parts: 3" diameter PVC Schedule 40 pipe, 3" diameter PVC end cap, Plumb Pak Red Rubber Sheet, 100ft Nylon rope, 2 Washers with 1/4" hole, 1/4" nylon nut, 1/4" screw, PVC primer and cement.

 

Outline on End Cap is a little crooked. LOL

 Holes drilled on End Cap.

Rubber flap attached to End Cap.

Rubber flap attached to End Cap (interior view)

End Cap test - Start

End Cap filling up

End Cap has sunk!

End cap attached to PVC pipe with PVC cement.

 

Finished Well Bucket.  FYI, I cut the PVC pipe to 3 feet length.

Drilled 2 holes to top of Well Bucket for rope attachment.  Remember to use a good knot.  For all the Boy Scouts out there, you do remember how to tie a Bowline?

Why carry a Firearm?

I am sure that most people reading this blog own firearms for protection.  For those that don't you should obtain a good firearm as soon as possible.  To truly be prepared you must be able to protect yourself.    I'm not a gun expert so I won't even try to explain which gun is best to buy.  For me, its only been approximately 3 years since I bought my first firearm.  My wife was actually the first to buy a firearm.  Go figure!  But she did work for our township police department as a clerk so that made it that much easier for both her and myself to obtain these unconstitutional permits to buy firearms.  If you ever lived in New Jersey then you would know how difficult and long it takes to obtain a firearm purchaser ID and a permit to buy a handgun.

Once you obtain your firearm and take training classes then I recommend that you obtain a license to carry or conceal a firearm.  Unfortunately for me, New Jersey does not issue carry permits to us mere subjects.  So I am unable to be prepared like I want to be unless I break the unconstitutional law.  However, I do have a Florida and Virginia concealed carry permit which enables me to carry in these states and other states including Pennsylvania.  Hopefully soon I can move out of this crazy state.

From experience I know for sure that carrying a firearm can make a difference in stopping a threat whether you have to fire a shot or not.  If there ever really was a wild west, Philly must have been a part of it!  Research studies say that most people do not know anyone that has been murdered. In college, I even had a class where they asked how many people knew someone who was murdered.  Out of about 70 people in the class only about 2 or 3 people raised their hand, myself included.   In fact, I know four people who have been murdered on the streets of North Philly.  My grandfather, my cousin and 2 friends have been murdered in the last 30 years.  The thing that really pisses me off is that 2 of the murders have never been solved.

Now what was the common denominator in these murders?  My grandfather, cousin and friends didn't carry or even own a firearm to defend themselves.  If they had a gun to protect themselves, there would have been a good chance they would be here today.

So to truly live the motto we must be prepared to protect ourselves and our loved ones from those who want to do us harm.  Having a firearm is the ultimate protection tool.  Pepper spray, a knife, a club or martial arts can not compare to the protection a firearm can provide. 

Live the Motto - Be Prepared!

Here are a few photos of my small arsenal.  I still need a battle rifle:

 









Kimber Custom Target 1911, Glock 19, Sig Sauer Mosquito

 

Mossberg 500 Shotgun

Ruger 10/22 Rifle 

The Philadelphia Underground

In the past few weeks, it has become clear that we need to try to be prepared for just about anything, even things that just break our normal routine.  Some of the things may not be life threatening but I just think of it as training for what's to come or a reminder that I must continue to prepare. This morning a train in front of my train broke down and I had to get off 4 stations before my usual stop and walk 10 blocks to my office. No trains were going to those other 4 stops any time soon so waiting was not an option.

When everyone got off the train they pretty much stayed on the platform like a bunch of herded sheep and did not know what to do.  I decided to not be a sheep and left the platform to make my way to my office 10 blocks away.  It was cold but was sunny.  I then remembered that Philadelphia has several miles of tunnels that connect all the major sections and subways of downtown Philadelphia and even has an old nuclear bomb shelter somewhere in this underground city (I would love to know exactly where the bomb shelter is).  I walked several blocks underground but then I realized I did not know exactly how to get to my office through these tunnels.  The fact I decided to walk the rest of the way on street level showed me that I was not as prepared as I should be.  If I had to bug out of the city by walking through underground tunnels then I would most likely get lost or find myself in an area I did not want to be in.

So to ensure I am prepared to be able to walk the city underground I found the below map of the Philadelphia tunnel/subway system.  The lesson I learned is that we should know all the routes to and from where we work and live because we never know when we have to use an alternate way to get to work or home. 

 

Live the Motto - Be Prepared!